The bulkhead conventionally forms the upstream end of a combustor in a gas turbine engine. The bulkhead is protected by a bulkhead liner. This is formed in sections, the number corresponding to the number of fuel nozzles passing through the bulkhead and liner. Conventionally a single truncated pie shaped section extends from the inner shell to the outer shell with a central opening for the passage of fuel nozzles. The narrow part between the edges of the section and the opening has been found to crack in the high temperature environment of the combustor.
Cooling air which is impinged from behind the liner is established with a predicted exit flowpath to achieve proper cooling of the liner. If the liner section cracks the cooling air leaks from that location and fails in accomplishing its overall cooling obligations. The liners are also coated with the protective coating to resist the high temperature radiation. A crack edged however is not so protected and leads to rapid disintegration of the liner.